The present invention relates generally to a catheter assembly having a catheter for insertion through an opening in a skull for monitoring a parameter of a brain of a living patient.
In the event of certain medical occurrences such as trauma to the head it is necessary to monitor the pressure in a ventricle of the brain and if the pressure rises above a critical level to relieve the pressure by draining fluid from the ventricle. A catheter or the like must be inserted directly into the brain to accomplish these tasks, but insertion of such a catheter has been a difficult and risky procedure. Among the risks of inserting a catheter into the brain is the risk of bacterial infection. As a general rule, once the catheter has been inserted it must be left in place for several days, and this makes the prevention of such infection both critically important and very difficult to accomplish.
It is possible to insert such a catheter surgically through an opening in the skull, routing the catheter underneath the scalp against the surface of the skull for a significant distance from the opening in the skull and thence through an opening in the scalp to the outside world. This isolates the opening in the skull from any contact with the environment outside the scalp and thereby minimizes the opportunity for infectious agents to enter the opening in the skull. However, insertion of the catheter by this method is time consuming, requires considerable surgical skill, and does not entirely eliminate the risk of infection.
Accordingly, there is a need for a fast and simple way to insert a catheter through the skull, through the brain, into the ventricle and to secure the catheter in position for as much as several days while avoiding any risk of infection.